Scottish areas ban Israeli products

GLASGOW, Scotland, May 24 (UPI) -- Some Scottish districts have banned stores from selling English translations of Israeli books and called for a boycott of Israeli products, officials said.

In response to the anti-Israeli measures, Ron Prosor, Israel's ambassador to Britain,told Ynetnews.com a place that boycotts books "isn't far from a place that burns them."

About 2 1/2 years ago, following Operation Cast Lead, a three-week Israeli military offensive in Gaza, the West Dunbartonshire Regional Council west of Glasgow approved a bill calling for a boycott Israeli goods, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.

Last May, following an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in which nine Turkish activists were killed, the council extended the ban, barred the sale of English translations of Israeli books in shops and forbade libraries from stocking them, the Hebrew daily said.

"The municipality will not boycott Israeli books printed in Britain only books that were printed in Israel, Malcolm Bennie, spokesman for the council said.

Last year, the city of Dundee followed suit and, acting on advice by legal advisers, opted to post notices in the city calling on residents to refrain from purchasing Israeli goods, and there are plans to mark all Israeli-made products to make their identification easier, the daily said.

The European Union forbids members from boycotting products from countries that have not had an official embargo imposed upon them, Ynetnews.com said.

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